Society, economy and environment: three different dimensions with a common goal of growth toward a circular economy paradigm

Historically, the ideas of decarbonization and the circular economy have developed separately. The concept of circular economy first appeared on the international scene in the early 2000s, linked to the definition of business models aimed at decoupling economic and industrial activities from resource consumption.

Decarbonization and circular economy gradually came closer together until they converged. Enel has been working in this direction since 2015, when it embarked on a journey toward decarbonization, putting circular economy principles at the heart of its strategy, with the aim of rethinking its business model in order to apply circularity to all the Group's activities, along the entire value chain.

The convergence of the circular economy and decarbonization is a key junction in the transition to a sustainable economic model.

In terms of social impact, the circular model is a great lever of growth, increasing local employment demand and creating new professional roles that are increasingly specialized and less replaceable by automation.

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The circular economy

The adoption of a circular and sustainable model is the common thread that guides all our activities. The energy transition requires the rapid development of renewable sources and the electrification of consumption, concurrently with the growth of technologies such as smart grids and storage systems. In order to achieve this ambitious goal, it is essential from the earliest stages of design to integrate technological development within a broader circular economy strategy, without neglecting any phase: from the choice of raw materials, to operation, reuse, and the final recycling of the asset and end-of-life management.

The strength of this vision lies in its systematic nature: it embraces the entire economic model and defines, in a concrete and measurable way, a goal to strive for and clear levers on which to act.

For this reason, Enel has developed its own KPI, Economic Circulability©®, which will measure the aggregate performance of the Group's circularity by comparing economic performance (EBITDA generated, in euros) with the total resources consumed (fuels and raw materials, in tons). At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Enel announced a goal of doubling its performance in terms of this KPI in 2030 compared to 2020, i.e., halving the amount of resources consumed compared to EBITDA generated. 

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